Saturday, July 8, 2017

Winter Roast at The Gables, Malvern East

Wow look at you nowFlowers in the windowIt's such a lovely dayAnd I'm glad you feel the sameCause to stand up, out in the crowdYou are one in a millionAnd I love you soLets watch the flowers grow

Flowers in the Window, Travis

A couple of weeks ago, Tim and I went to The Gables in Malvern East for their Winter Roast. For $65/head, you receive a glass of wine or beer, a three course roast menu, and pot coffee or tea.

We were seated in the front room with a wonderful blazing fire to keep us warm on a rather chilly Melbourne day:

Here is the menu:

The starter was celeriac and hazelnut soup:

The soup was lovely - not too much celeriac, which can be quite salty and strong in taste, and the hazelnut was definitely ascertainable. The soup was rib-stickingly thick, and was served with your choice of a bread roll or bread.Next up came the roast, served smorgasboard style. You could choose between roast lamb or beef, sliced to order, with Yorkshire pudding and red wine gravy. You helped yourself to vegetables, including roast potato, pumpkin, kohlrabi and baby carrots, and broccoli and beans with almonds. There was also a vegetarian gnocchi available as a side, featuring zucchini, peas, gorgonzola and herbs:

The least exciting course was the dessert (I know! coming from me). There was apple pie, trifle, chocolate mousse and cheese. Tim had the apple pie, which was more an apple frangipane tart than a regular apple pie. I went for the trifle, which was good without being spectacular, and the chocolate mousse sprinkled with freeze dried raspberries, which seemed a little bit overset:

This is one of the beautiful tiles surrounding the fireplace:

And here is the lovely plaster cornice:

Last but not least, this is one of the stained glass windows viewed from the inside:

Tim and I walked back from The Gables. Tim remarked that there were flowers in the window of one of the houses we passed, which instantly reminded me of the Travis song, Flowers in the Window, which is one of my favourites. I was also excited to learn recently that Flowers in the Window was co-written with Paul McCartney! Always good to know about The Beatles connection.

Oh that roast looks so wonderfully wintry. The soup sounds wonderful and I am sad about the desserts. They pale into insignificance when compared with the first two courses. I always love a Beatles reference too.